The Tethered Mage

This Venetian-inspired debut novel features great characters (including a variety of women), magic, political intrigue, mystery, friendship, and a dash of romantic subplot, but it's the solid worldbuilding that truly sets it apart. The Tethered Mage is one of the most engaging novels I've encountered this year and my favorite debut set in a secondary world so far, and I found it so compulsively readable and exciting that I stayed up until 2:00 AM to finish it.

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